"Disclose All Star Rating and Receipt Review Standards"...KFTC to Sanction Arbitrary Review Deletion from October

From Algorithm Sorting Criteria to Deletion Reasons and Objection Procedures
Full Implementation Begins on October 22 After a Three-Month Guidance Period

The standards for collecting and processing e-commerce user reviews, which heavily influence consumers' purchasing decisions, will be fully disclosed. Not only must ambiguous ranking algorithms and the criteria for selecting top reviews be made transparent, but so must the standards for hiding or deleting specific reviews.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission announced on the 7th that it had distributed a Q&A guidebook outlining detailed guidelines to ensure the effective implementation of the newly introduced user review collection and disclosure system, which was established following the amended E-Commerce Act on July 21. After a three-month guidance period to allow for IT system upgrades, full-scale monitoring and enforcement will begin on October 22.

This requirement applies not only to general shopping malls and platforms but also to small business-operated online stores and overseas direct-purchase operators conducting business with Korean consumers. Product or service feedback includes not only narrative reviews but also simple star ratings, recommendation buttons, and location reviews based on receipt verification. Businesses must clearly display, on the first screen where detailed reviews are shown, the four core operating standards either as noticeable text or via a visible link. The disclosed information must cover: the types of users authorized to post reviews, the duration reviews are posted, the standards and effect of rating evaluations, and the guidelines for deletion as well as the objection procedure. In particular, reviews written by sponsors or product trial groups (not actual buyers) must be clearly indicated as such, and the obligation to disclose any economic interests associated with individual reviews remains unchanged. When importing reviews from external shopping malls, the source must be identified, and selectively displaying only favorable reviews is strictly prohibited.

If artificial intelligence or proprietary algorithms are used to sort reviews, key evaluation factors—such as text length or whether photos are included—must be specified, rather than vague descriptions like usefulness. Also, treating reviews as ‘private’ or stopping their display will be considered equivalent to deletion; therefore, businesses must provide a notification and establish an objection procedure for the reviewer. Violating these requirements may result in a correction order and administrative fines of up to 10 million won. In case of non-compliance, business suspension may also be imposed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.